rocknbil - 5:41 pm on Jul 11, 2008 (gmt 0)

I believe it is much better to be a generalists with maybe a few areas you know better than others and the ability to find a person that is a specialists if you must absolutely have that technology.

Agree wholeheartedly. By specializing, you never know if someone's BSing you, or are just being lazy and giving you an answer full of fluff. Right now I'm going through a nightmare issue, my admin is on assignment and I'm having to learn something new - AGAIN - because I need this thing done right away.

Specialization opens the door to things like: WHY EVERYONE HATES MICROSOFT. These programmers are gifted and talented, but they're all specialized. So no one really knows if someone in sector A is doing everything they say they are. They throw together a new OS and no one knows if the other half is really doing what they're supposed to. The result is a bug infested final product. (Exaggerated example, but you get my point.)

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is the cliche they throw at people like me. Another is "know a little bit of everything and never excel at anything." Both have more than a hint of truth, but for my money, knowing a little bit of everything is a safer bet than . . . .

"throwing all my eggs in one basket."